malaya.com.ph

Malaya Business Insight traces its roots to 1981, when it was still Ang Pahayagang Malaya (The Free Newspaper), a Tagalog daily and one of the publications founded by journalist Jose Burgos, Jr. That was the year strongman Ferdinand Marcos supposedly lifted Martial Law, and Burgos set out to disprove Marcos’ propaganda that the press was finally free after nine years of dictatorial rule that began on Sept 21, 1972.

True enough, Marcos continued to muzzle the press even after the so-called lifting of Martial law. He ordered the imprisonment of Burgos and some columnists of We Forum, sister publication of Malaya, after they exposed Marcos’ war medals as being fake.

When We Forum closed down, Malaya was transformed into an English newspaper. After the 1986 People Power revolution ousted Marcos and democracy was restored in the country, Burgos sold Malaya to veteran journalist Amado P. Macasaet, who was at that time the paper’s business editor.

 In 1999, the paper started its online platform, malaya.com.ph. Later on it became Malaya Business Insight, which is run by People’s Independent Media, Inc., where Macasaet controls almost 90 percent of shares. The remaining shares are owned by non-affiliates.

The paper’s online platform, according to website analytics Effective Measure, got almost 828,000 unique visitors in July 2016.

Sources:

Fernandez, L.M. (2007 January 26). Heroes of Press Freedom: Jose Burgos Jr. – A Timeless Hero. Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility. Accessed September 15, 2016 at cmfr-phil.org/media-ethics-responsibility/ethics/heroes-of-press-freedomjose-burgos-jr-a-timeless-hero/

2014. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). General Information Sheet of People's Independent Media, Inc. (available upon request at SEC).